Exploring Digital Support for Pet-Loss Grief: Community Narratives as Supportive Resources for Emotional Resilience

Abstract

In Japan, animals such as dogs and cats kept within households have increasingly been regarded as family members and recognized as companion animals. As pets have come to share everyday living spaces with humans, emotional attachment has deepened, and experiences of pet-loss grief have become more profound. However, social recognition and sustainable frameworks for supporting such grief remain limited. This study investigates how community-mediated grief narratives function as socio-technical resources that support emotional resilience in experiences of pet loss, and explores how these functions may be extended through digital transformation. Focusing on a community-based case in Japan, the research examines memorial essays published in a temple-run newsletter that serves as an archive of shared mourning practices.A qualitative case study design was adopted, drawing on two data sources: memorial essays voluntarily contributed by bereaved pet owners and semi-structured interviews with selected authors. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to explore how grief experiences are articulated, shared, and socially acknowledged within a communal context. The analysis identified recurring themes of loss, gratitude, continuing bonds, and meaning-making through remembrance. The mediated sharing of these narratives fosters emotional recognition and a sense of shared experience without requiring direct interpersonal interaction. Building on these findings, the study discusses implications for affective digital design, highlighting how digitally archiving and circulating grief narratives may contribute to more sustainable and accessible forms of emotional support for individuals experiencing pet loss.

Keywords: Pet-loss Grief, Community-mediated Narratives, Emotional Resilience, Affective Digital Design, Socio-technical Support

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007352